horrible_music_and_songsfandomcom-20200214-history
The Owl
The Owl is the sixth studio album by American country music band Zac Brown Band. It was released on September 20, 2019, by Wheelhouse Records. Upon its release, the album received generally mixed to negative reviews from music critics. Track Listing Personnel Zac Brown Band * Zac Brown – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar * Coy Bowles – electric guitar, electric slide guitar, Hammond organ * Clay Cook – background vocals, clavinet, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, electric slide guitar, Fender Rhodes, Hammond organ, mellotron, pedal steel guitar, piano, tambourine, wurlitzer * Daniel de los Reyes – percussion * Jimmy De Martini – acoustic guitar, background vocals, banjo, cello, electric guitar, violin * Chris Fryar – drums * John Driskell Hopkins – background vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo * Matt Mangano – acoustic bass guitar, bass guitar, moog bass, acoustic guitar Additional musicians * Brandi Carlile – featured vocals on "Finish What We Started * Colette Carlson – background vocals * Johan Carlsson – arranger, bass guitar, clapping, drum programming, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, Hammond organ, percussion, piano, solina, synthesizer, tambourine, background vocals * Andrew DeRoberts – acoustic guitar, drum programming, electric guitar, keyboards, synthesizer bass, background vocals, wurlitzer * Michael Engstrom – upright bass * Phil Hanseroth – acoustic guitar, background vocals * Tim Hanseroth – acoustic guitar, background vocals * Luke Laird – drum programming * Tove Lo – background vocals * Max Martin – background vocals * Shawn Mendes – background vocals * Doris Sanberg – background vocals * Don Satchmo – Roland TR-808 * Sasha Sirota – background vocals, drum programming * Skrillex – electric guitar, keyboards, drum programming * Peter Svensson – nylon string guitar * Ryan Tedder – background vocals * Andrew Watt – drum programming Production * Brandon Bell – engineer, mixing * Cory Bice – engineer * Michael H. Brauer – mixing * Johan Carlsson – producer * Alex Chapman – photography * Clay Cook – engineer, producer * Dan Davis – Assistant engineer, engineer * Andrew DeRoberts – engineer, producer * DJ Riggins – mixing assistant * Serban Ghenea – mixing * Chad Gibson – art direction * John Hanes – mixing assistant * Sam Holland – engineer * John Driskell Hopkins – engineer * Jaycen Joshua – mixing * Shivani Kapoor – art direction, design * Peter Karlsson – vocal producer * Dave Kutch – mastering * Paul Lamalfa – engineer * Nicole Larson – vocal coach * Jeremy Lertola — engineer * Victor Lopes – photography * Matt Mangano – engineer, producer, production coordination * Max Martin – producer * Michael Mechling – mixing assistant * Happy Perez – producer * Diego Pernia – art direction, photography * Poo Bear – producer * Fernando Reyes – mixing assistant * Jacob Richards – mixing assistant * Andy Sapp – photography * Mike Seaburg – mixing assistant * F. Reid Shippen — mixing * Sasha Sirota – engineer, producer * Skrillex – engineer, producer * Ryan Tedder – producer * Matt Tinsley – art direction * Andrew Watt – producer * Preston Tate White – assistant engineer * Evan Wilber – assistant engineer Why It Sucks # Zac Brown Band changes their sound drastically by throwing most of their country roots out of the window, resulting in The Owl sounding like uninspired pop music. # Some of the songs sound similar to what Zac Brown would release under Sir Rosevelt, his electronica side project. # At times, the lyrics can come across as shallow and weird, and sometimes it's portrayed as bizzare. For example, "God Given" has product placement for Gucci and Veyron ["Gucci bag, stacks on stacks/diamonds fill up the champagne glass/Veyron whip, G5 high/you have class that they just can't buy"], and "Shoofly Pie" makes and celebrates the metaphor of cunnilingus. # The instrumentals are mediocre and uninspired. "Need This" sounds like something Vulfpeck would record; trap drums make an appearance on "God Given"; and "Warrior" tries to sound hard with its Imagine Dragons influence. # Some of the songs aren't mixed properly. For example, "Already on Fire" has Brown's vocals deep in the mix, buried by the surf-rock guitars and drums; "Me and the Boys in the Band" has a warped, clunky bassline; and "Leaving Love Behind" ends abruptly on a cliffhanger. Redeeming Qualities # The song "Leaving Love Behind" closes the album on a more personal and positive note, but it wasn't enough to save the entire album. # Brandi Carlile's feature manages to be a bright light on the otherwise generic and tepid "Finished What We Started." Category:2010s Albums Category:Zac Brown Band albums Category:Country Albums Category:Pop Albums Category:Electronic Albums Category:R&B Albums Category:Albums that are an Embarrassment to a Singer's Career. Category:Bad Albums From Good Artists Category:Albums